


I'm in Love with how Your Soul's a Mix of Chaos and Art

by Houdini123, LittleLizardLover



Series: There is no Me Without You [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adoption, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Historical, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, M/M, New York City, Out of Character, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-World War I, Slang, Smoking, art deco, sometimes you find a child in an alleyway and take him home and that there's a family, sorry but bokuaka are capitalists in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26824039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Houdini123/pseuds/Houdini123, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLizardLover/pseuds/LittleLizardLover
Summary: It was September, 1924, and Koutarou and Keiji were going to one of New York's speakeasies to celebrate their anniversary and scout some new artistic talent. Their night doesn't exactly go as planned, but sometimes it's more than worth it to have your plans derailed.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: There is no Me Without You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956553
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	I'm in Love with how Your Soul's a Mix of Chaos and Art

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> We were two people writing this, me (the account owner) and my sister. She lives and breathes art deco. I had no idea what it was. We felt like writing a historical AU fic and doing research and due to my sister's love of art deco we decided to do a 1920's/WW1 AU for some fun. It's... mostly historically accurate, outside of the gay marriage thing. 
> 
> We hope you all enjoy! This will be the first instalment of a series of one-shots written in this verse, all focusing on different characters at different points in their lives and how they all connect.

It was their four-year anniversary and Koutarou was taking them to a new jazz club that had a reservation list a mile-long for anyone outside the cream of the crop of society. They were dressed to the nines, as they always were, and Keiji was wearing the new sapphire earring and necklace pairing that Koutarou had gifted him. According to Koutarou he couldn’t not buy them when he saw them because they were the exact shade of Keiji’s eyes, price be damned, and Keiji had to agree that they were exquisite pieces of jewelry. His new favourites, as all jewelry given to him by Koutarou eventually became. The man had an eye for finding gorgeous jewelry.

“Darling, who did you say was going to perform tonight?” He asked a relaxed Koutarou. 

“Kuroo told me it was going to be a new duo, some kids. Hinata and Kageyama? Apparently they’re great, really electric talent!” He replied, eyes lighting up as he drove down the glitzy street. 

“Sounds wonderful, dear. Have they made a record yet?” He asked

“Not that I know of, we could always invest if you really like them.” He replied, grabbing Keiji’s hand and holding it over the carved ivory gearshift. 

“Well if they’re as good as Kuroo says then I think it would be a sound investment, plus I’m always looking for new music to help me write.” He said.

“Anything for you, love.” Koutarou replied, kissing his hand. “Oh! I think that’s the place.” He said pulling up to park on the side of the road. The building was pretty nondescript, as many jazz clubs were nowadays. Keiji had no doubts about the glamorous insides though, any self-respecting club owner always made sure to have the latest decor. Koutarou finished parking the car, a perfect parallel, and came around to open Keiji’s door.

“Thank you.” He said, stepping out and grabbing Koutarou’s offered arm. Together they walked to the front of a long line of hopeful club goers, in style of course. The bouncer didn’t even ask for their names before letting them in, Koutarou’s infamous hair getting them recognized as soon as they had pulled up in the car. 

“Have a good evening, sirs.” The man said, welcoming them to an art deco paradise full of colourful motifs and gold accents. A busboy quickly came up to greet them, take their jackets into the coat check, and lead them off to a secluded booth with a nice view of the stage.

“Can I get you anything to drink tonight?” He asked once they were comfortably seated.

“A Manhattan for me and a Gin Fizz for my darlin’.” Koutarou answered, putting an arm around Keiji’s shoulders.

“Coming right up! Our stars of the night should be starting anytime now!” The man said, leaving them to enjoy their evening as the two performers came out onto the stage. They were clearly still kids, and an odd duo at that but Keiji knew better than to judge based on looks. The taller of the two sat down at the grand piano and began playing a soft tune. 

\--

Koutarou found the two performers to be quite entertaining. Their first song had been a bit slower and softer, but subsequent pieces had been building in intensity and speed. They had quite a fun aura - it was clear that the two were enjoying themselves, lyrics playful and youthful. It was quite amazing what they were able to do with just a voice and a piano - most groups had some brass or strings of some kind to add flavour to the music. 

The most recent song came to a close and there was the briefest pause when the singer took a quick drink of water. The pianist seemed to brace himself a bit, hands hovering over some of the lowest notes in anticipation. In a flash, the pianist’s fingers fell down, eliciting a loud and low noise that was probably meant to be a dramatic start but sounded _just_ close enough to a bomb going off that for a moment Koutarou was thrown right back into the trenches. The sound echoed and echoed - was it echoes, or was it more gunfire and mines? The laughter and chatter from nearby tables morphed and mutated into the mumbled prayers of the dying believers and shouts of _medic!_ from those not quite ready to give up yet.

As his breath quickened, the scene around him morphed but not quite. Still the jazz club with hazy air but the air was no longer cigarette smoke but dust and sulphur. _Fuck_ He knew it wasn’t real but it was hard to ignore, his hands grasping air where he expected a gun, eyes searching the room for Ushijima’s imposing figure or Sawamura’s obnoxious orange armband. Where were they? What was going on?

Someone clasped his hand.

Koutarou’s hands were shaking but they were warm. _Keiji._ Keiji was holding his hands. _Safe. Keiji is safe._ The shaking continued and everything around him felt so far away but his hands were _warm._ There was no warmth here, not on the front, this had to be a dream. _Keiji had to be safe at home, playing the piano._ He was dreaming and it felt so nice, such a _nice dream._ The grip on his hands got stronger, _what was that noise?_ Everything still felt so far away, he didn’t want to go back, not when Keiji was here with him, he couldn’t be alone again. 

The world became sharper in the blink of an eye. Keiji was beside him looking at Koutarou in that soft way that meant he had been having another episode. _So it wasn’t a dream._ Koutarou’s mind still felt so foggy and _wrong_ but he knew Keiji would keep him safe because Keiji always kept him _safe_ and _warm._ Maybe going outside would clear his mind. _Too many people here, not safe_ his thoughts supplied. 

\--

“Hey, let’s go for a smoke.”

A few of the people sat nearby gave them odd looks as they stood from their table after finishing their most recent drinks. It was hard to find someone _not_ smoking in the club, the air hazy with smoke, but Koutarou preferred smoking outside. Something about it being better to clear his head. Keiji personally didn’t mind smoking indoors when at home but did prefer leaving when they were in clubs. It was hard to enjoy your own cigarette when some guy was smoking something horrid smelling right next to you.

They stepped out through a discreet side door into an alleyway away from any prying eyes. It was pretty dingey and dark, barely illuminated by nearby street lights but blocked from view by some stacked boxes and trash cans. You could barely hear the music from inside, so unless you were specifically listening for it you probably wouldn’t even realize.

Keiji pulled his pack out of his bag and realized Koutarou had forgotten to bring his own. It was a common enough occurrence that Keiji just gave his husband a cigarette from his own pack without thinking, lighting both.

“The two performers are pretty good.” Keiji said, knowing it was better not to dwell on what had just happened and instead distract Koutarou. While his episodes were intense, they were also generally gone quite quickly. “It’s strange we’ve never heard of them before, though.”

“Right?” Koutarou replied starting to smile, tension quickly and visibly leaving his shoulders as his mind was taken off the war and he took the first few puffs of his cigarette, “I’ll make sure to talk to the manager as soon as-” He stopped speaking abruptly, no longer looking at Keiji but rather past him into the alleyway, clearly focused on something.

“Are you okay?” Keiji asked, trying to figure out what the other was seeing in the dark. Koutarou’s eyes had always been much sharper than his own, so he struggled to discern which vague lump in the dark was worthy of attention.

“There’s something moving.” Koutarou mumbled and Keiji frowned.

“We should probably go back in if you think there are rats or something.” He said, wary of being bitten or having something _else_ triggering Koutarou. Their cigarettes were almost done anyway…

“It’s too big to be a rat,” Koutarou continued, stepping forward a bit.

“A raccoon, then?” Keiji suggested, even more apprehensive about that possibility and hoping he could dissuade Koutarou from chasing whatever he was seeing like a madman. Then, he saw the movement in the dark for the first time. It took him a minute to recognize what it was exactly, but his blood ran cold, “Koutarou, I think that’s a child!”

As soon as he spoke, the child (?) broke out into a run instead of the careful shuffling they had been doing. Unfortunately for the child, Koutarou had good reflexes and was much quicker, catching them with ease. They were silent for a moment before breaking out in cries, trying to wriggle out of Koutarou’s arms. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, please lemme go!”

Koutarou, never one for tact and also lacking in experience with children, reacted to this by tightening his hold on the squirming child who only got more distressed. All the shouting would no doubt catch someone’s attention soon. Keiji began trying to shush the child, using his most soothing voice, “Calm down, calm down. You haven’t done anything wrong, so just relax, okay?”

The kid stared at him with huge eyes, almost glowing in the extremely dim light of the alleyway, before shutting their mouth.

“If Koutarou puts you down, are you going to run away?” Keiji asked, curious about what a child would be doing alone in an alleyway in the middle of the night, in a neighbourhood known for its speakeasies. 

The kid shook his head hesitantly and Koutarou took the cue to set them down on the ground. They still looked like they really wanted to bolt, but they stayed in place nonetheless. Keiji was able to get a better look at them now that they weren’t hiding in shadows or thrashing around in Koutarou’s arms. They were small, both in that they were clearly young and that they were quite skinny, with a grubby face and dirty, ill-fitted clothes and no shoes. Homeless, without a doubt, and likely and orphan too. Keiji could feel his heart bleed for the child.

“Do you have parents?” He asked, crouching down to their level to be a bit less intimidating.

The kid hesitated, avoiding Keiji’s eyes before replying, “My father…”

So, not an orphan. Still, something about it seemed off to Keiji, how the kid seemed almost scared of mentioning the man. Though, his fear might just stem from speaking to Keiji and Koutarou.

“And where is your father?”

“I dunno.”

Keiji hummed, not liking the sound of that. “My name is Keiji, and that’s my husband Koutarou. What’s your name?”

“Katsumi.”

“Do you want us to help you find your father, Katsumi?” Keiji asked, hoping that Katsumi really was just lost and not abandoned as he feared. 

Katsumi seemed to freeze up a bit before he spoke, fidgeting with his shirt. “It’s ok. He doesn’t like it when I bother people.”

“When’s the last time you saw your father?” Keiji asked, almost fearing the answer. 

“Umm. Two days.” Katsumi seemed uncertain, but with how small he was Keiji wasn’t surprised at it. A feeling of anger was bubbling up in his chest though at the father of Katsumi who had clearly abandoned the boy. He kept on a calm face, not wanting to scare the already terrified child.

Keiji looked at Koutarou, who was much less good at hiding his emotions and in a clear state of rage and distress. They couldn’t leave the child here alone, there was no doubt of that, but what to do? There were plenty of orphanages in the city, many of which Keiji had visited in the past few years but it felt… wrong to just leave Katsumi in one of those places. He made a split second decision, hoping Koutarou was on the same wavelength.

“Koutarou, darling, give me your jacket. Poor Katsumi is freezing.” He said. Koutarou stared for a moment before slipping off his silk suit jacket and handing it to Keiji who quickly wrapped it around Katsumi. It wasn’t much to combat the nippy weather - enough for a quick smoke break and not much else - but it was better than Katsumi’s own shirt. Katsumi seemed uncertain, small hands holding the jacket closed. “Katsumi… would you like to come home with us? We’re very sorry for scaring you, and it’s completely up to you.”

Katsumi stared at Keiji, then to Koutarou, then back to Keiji. “But what about my father..? He’ll be really angry if I bother you any more or if he can’t find me when he comes back.”

“Fuck your dad.” Koutarou said, crossing his arms.

“Koutarou!” Keiji scolded, glaring at his husband. Koutarou immediately looked sheepish. Keiji turned his attention back to Katsumi. Did it count as kidnapping if the child was abandoned beforehand? “What he’s trying to say is… you aren’t bothering us in the slightest, and your father, he’s been gone for two days. There’s no way of knowing when he’ll come back. Wouldn’t you be happier staying with us until he does?”

After what seems to be an eternity, Katsumi nodded. Relieved, Keiji opened his arms to the child and picked him up, resting the small child on his hip. Katsumi wrapped his arms around Keiji’s neck, feeling quite warm for someone who was out in the cold. Hopefully it wasn’t a fever.

“Let’s go home, then.” Keiji said, “You can talk to the manager about those performers later.”

Koutarou nodded and opened the door back into the club for them, and the warmth was quite welcome. Quite a few heads turned as they walked to the front to pay their tab and get their coats. It was understandable, really. They turned heads on regular nights out, being one of the wealthiest couples in town and being a bit eccentric, but leaving for a smoke without a child and coming back with one was strange, even for them. At the coat check, Keiji put down Katsumi to wrap him in his own coat before picking him back up.

“You have a car?” Katsumi asked, looking a bit starstruck as Koutarou unlocked the doors. Keiji slid into the passenger seat, keeping Katsumi in his lap.

“Of course we do.” Keiji said without thinking. Everyone in their social group had a car. He realized belatedly that to a poor child like Katsumi, that might seem a bit arrogant.

“Father says only ‘rich assholes’ have cars.” Katsumi said, big brown eyes still taking in the leather interior.

Keiji frowned a bit at the foul words coming from the little child’s mouth, but Koutarou laughed, loud and unashamed until he realized Keiji wasn’t also laughing and instead turned on the car.

“Are _you_ rich?” Katsumi asked earnestly.

“Yes.” Keiji replied, knowing full well how wealthy they were. Even donating copious amounts to charity left them with more than what they knew to do with. 

“Oh.” Katsumi briefly went quiet. “Are you robbers too?”

“What makes you say that?”

“‘Cause all rich people are robbers.” The child said simply.

“We aren’t robbers.” Keiji said.

“Yeah, we work really hard for all our stuff.” Koutarou agreed, “Honestly, I think Keiji works a bit too hard sometimes, it’s all he ever does!”

“He’s over exaggerating.” Keiji told Katsumi, “You’ll find he does that a lot. After all, wasn’t I _just_ having drinks and watching a performance with you?”

Katsumi seemed to freeze up a bit when Keiji mentioned drinking but didn’t give any other indicators of being uncomfortable. The rest of the ride was spent in silence, Katsumi leaning on the window to watch the passing landscape. Keiji knew there were a lot of things he had to talk over with Koutarou, but that would only happen after Katsumi was tucked in bed and asleep.

Koutarou finally pulled up to their home and Katsumi seemed even more star struck with the house, mouth open in awe. Keiji stepped out of the car, still holding Katsumi, and hoped he wasn’t making some sort of mistake as they entered their home.

\--

“Welcome to our home.” Keiji said in a soft voice, gently setting Katsumi down in the foyer. “How about we take our coats off and go run you a warm bath while one of the cooks makes you a nice hot meal?” He asked.

“Really!?” Katsumi asked back, eyes wide.

“Of course, it would only do for us to treat our most lovely guest to some hospitality, isn’t that right darling?” Keiji said, looking back to Koutarou who enthusiastically nodded.

“Well, that’s settled. Koutarou, could you go tell the cook to whip something up and then fetch some nice warm clothes for Katsumi?” He asked his husband

“Of course, of course! I’ll meet you back upstairs!” He replied dashing off with his tasks.

“Would you like to take my hand?” Keiji asked the wonderstruck child who nodded his head as fast as he could and very gently took Keiji’s hand. “Let’s go.” He said, and together they walked up the ornate stairs to the master bath where a porcelain tub was awaiting them.

“Wow, it’s so fancy in here! Where do we heat up the water? Don’t worry, I don’t need a lot.” The child said, admiring the vanity where the couple did their morning and night routines without fail. 

“Ah, we have hot water from the taps, we won’t need to heat any up. See? It works like this.” Keiji said, twisting the taps in the bathtub. Nice warm water came flowing out, quickly filling the tub. “Would you like to add bubbles? We have lavender or rose.” Keiji said, holding out two small bottles to the wonderstruck child.

“What does that smell like?They look like the ones in the shop windows!” The child said finally looking up from where the water had been filling the bath. 

“Well, how about you see for yourself?” Keji said, opening both bottles and holding them out for the small child to smell. He did, giggling.

“I don’t know which one to pick...”

“Would you like to use a mix of both?”

“Yes, please.” Katsumi shyly answered back.

“No need to be shy, I do the same thing.” Keiji said as he was pouring the soaps into the bath. “Why don’t you get undressed and step in?” He asked gently as he went to grab a nice fluffy towel.

“Okay, but I don’t think I’m tall enough to get in by myself.” He replied. Katsumi was right, he could just see above the rim of the tub. It made Keiji wonder just how old Katsumi was because he seemed to be maybe two or three if he had to guess just from size. Then again, he didn’t speak or act like a two or three year old child.

“I’ll help you, no need to worry.” Keiji said, gently picking Katsumi up and placing him in the bath. “How’s the temperature? Too hot? Too cold?” Keiji asked, softly swishing the water around. It seemed okay to him, but you could never be sure with kids and their delicate skin.

“S’nice.” Katsumi said, almost completely ignoring Keiji in favour of playing with the bubbles surrounding him.

“May I help you wash your hair?”

“Yes, please.” The child replied, tilting his head back so Keiji could wet and lather his hair.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how old are you?” He asked, nonchalantly.

“I turned four on August twentieth.” Katsumi replied happily, holding up four fingers before taking the washcloth Keiji was offering to him. His answer confirmed what Keiji feared; Katsumi was severely underweight for his age but mentally sharp thankfully. ‘A diet of nice warm filling meals ought to hopefully right that.’ Keiji thought.

“Tilt your head back please.” Keiji asked.

“Hey, hey, hey, food’s ready for those who are hungry!” Koutarou said, barging into the room with some children’s pyjamas. Katsumi flinched at the loud voice, which Koutarou noticed but tried not to show. He spoke softer: “Are you done with your bubble bath?” Katsumi looked to Keiji with inquisitive eyes.

“Well… did you make sure to wash behind your eyes and between your toes?” Keiji asked softly booping Katsumi’s nose.

“Oh! I forgot, can you do my ears while I do my toes?” He asked, giggling and reaching for his toes.

“Of course.” Keiji replied softly scrubbing behind the kid’s ears. Koutarou came closer to them to place the clothes on the shelf by the tub. 

“I got the clothes from Yukie, they might be a bit big on him.” He said, bending down to press a kiss on Keiji’s head. “I’ll wait outside?”

“If you want, we’re almost done. Aren’t we, Katsumi?” Keiji said. Koutarou nodded but stepped out.

“I’m all done!” Katsumi pipped up.

“Alright, let me get your towel ready.” Keiji replied, standing up from his kneeling and reaching for the towel he had prepared. He scooped up a smiling Katsumi and began to dry him off, making sure to ruffle his hair until he looked like a wild boy.

“Oh no! Where did Katsumi go?” He said in a ‘worried’ tone after pulling the towel of his head.

“I’m right here!” The child replied laughing.

“What? All I see before is a little wild boy with wind blown hair!” Keiji replied, feigning disbelief. 

“No silly! I just haven’t brushed my hair yet!” Katsumi replied laughing madly.

“You’re right, how silly of me!” Keiji said, finally giving in to the giggles. “Do you want to brush your hair or shall I?”

“I can do it!” Katsumi said, reaching for the offered brush.

“Good, I’ll get your clothes sorted then. They might be a bit big but it’s all we have at the moment.”

“Do you have kids?” Katsumi asked, handing the brush back.

“I wish, but no. A few of the servants do, so we're borrowing from them for tonight.” Keiji replied, helping Katsumi into some underwear and pyjama bottoms.

“Why don’t you have kids? You seem nice enough, and nice people always have nice kids.” Katsumi asked, buttoning up the sleep shirt which was much too big.

“It’s very complicated, but it’s not for lack of trying. I guess we just haven’t found the right kid yet.” Keiji replied, helping Katsumi with the last few buttons.

“Oh.”

“C’mon, let’s go eat.” Keiji said, taking Katsumi’s hand in his.

\--

“Thank you for the meal.” Katsumi said after swallowing his last spoonful of soup and wiping his mouth. 

“Would you like some hot cocoa before bed?” Koutarou asked.

“What’s cocoa?” Katsumi replied. 

“Chocolate.” Keiji answered calmly before Koutarou voiced his concern at Katsumi not knowing what hot cocoa was. He loved his husband but sometimes he tended to be a bit loud in his indignation.

“I never had chocolate before, but it looks real nice in those fancy shop displays.” Katsumi piped up, seeing Koutarous wide eyed look. 

“Well then it is our moral duty to serve you some hot cocoa!” Koutarou proclaimed. Keiji stood gracefully from the table and went in search of hot cocoa.

“Thank you, honey!” Koutarou whisper-shouted in his direction, Katsumi giggling widdly. It didn’t take long for Yukie to whip up a steaming batch and to help Keiji carry everything back to the two very excited chocolate enthusiasts.

“Mmm, looks good!” Katsumi said, taking a tentative sip of the warm drink (Keiji had been sure to check the temperature). “Delicious!” He exclaimed, all smiles.

“It is! What were you two talking about while I was gone?” Keiji asked, over his cup.

“Baseball!” Katsumi said. 

“Oh! And which team do you support? Koutarou is a big Yankees fan, though I prefer the Red Soxs.” Keiji inquired.

“I dunno yet, I’ve never been to a game but the Yankees sound cool.” Katsumi said, practically dozing off into his cocoa.

“Looks like somebody’s getting tired.” Koutarou said, poking Katsumi’s cheek. 

“Yeah…” Katsumi replied, trying in vain to stay awake. 

“Let’s go to bed, shall we?” Kejji said. 

“Okay…” A half-asleep Katsumi replied as Koutarou picked him up. 

Together they made their way upstairs to the spare bedroom in front of their room (it was always meant to have been a children’s nursery, but after having be empty for so long it hurt less to call it a spare room.) Keiji pulled the blankets back so that Koutarou could lay Katsumi down. Keiji caressed Katsumi’s hair back from his face.

“Good night, dear.” He said.

“Night.” Katsumi mumbled.

“We’ll be just across the hall if you need anything, we’ll leave your door open.” Koutarou added. And together they quietly left Katsumi to sleep. Once they were in the hallway Keiji spoke up, “His forehead was really warm, I think he might have a fever.” 

“We can have the doctor come down tomorrow if it reassures you?” Koutarou offered.

“Yes please.”

\--

After having put Katsumi to bed, Keiji and Koutarou went to their own bedroom, both ready to go to sleep as well. It was well into the night now and they felt quite tired. Their anniversary night had gone quite differently from what they had planned, but Keiji was still quite glad.

“It’s too bad Katsumi is next door,” Koutarou said, taking off his shirt, “‘Cause I was hoping to have some _fun_ tonight.”

“You’ll have to wait until Katsumi is more settled in,” Keiji said as he took off his jewelry. “We don’t want to scare him or make him uncomfortable.”

“Not even just a little bit?” Koutarou asked, making his best ‘puppy eyes.’

“None at all.” Keiji replied, “We won’t have any time any ways, taking care of Katsumi and work.”

“He might be a hard sleeper.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Koutarou. You can survive a few days without sex. Actually, you can survive until Katsumi is eighteen, if it comes to that.”

“Noooooooooo,” Koutarou said dramatically, draping himself on Keiji, “That’s like…. Fourteen years! Wait.” Suddenly, he seemed much more serious and less playful, “You mean you want to… actually keep him? Like, for good? I don’t know if that’s the best idea…”

“Why not?” Keiji asked, slipping out of his husband’s arms to properly be face-to-face with him, “I mean, we’ve been to so many orphanages already and been turned away and it seems so… lucky, to have met Katsumi tonight of all nights. I thought you would be happier?”

Koutarou visibly wilted at his words, “It’s not that I _don’t_ want to take in Katsumi but more than I don’t know if we should. Or, just me, I guess. You’re already amazing with him.”

“If this is about how you scared him earlier, then you’re being a complete idiot, right now. He’s already pretty much over it.”

“It’s not about that!” Koutarou insisted, “It’s about what I _could_ do to him. Those matrons at the orphanages were probably right about me being a danger to children!”

“You really still believe them?” Keiji asked softly. It was rare for orphanages to outright refuse potential parents, unless they believed there to be a real danger. Unfortunately, they had deemed Koutarou a danger. Coming back from the war, he’d suffered from shellshock pretty severely, which didn’t help his already unstable moods one bit. It had unfortunately earned him quite the reputation, one that had spread to the ears of anyone who was anyone and beyond. Nuns heard the words _unstable temperament_ and _soldier_ put together and immediately assumed the worse. Keiji was sure they had good reason to make such assumptions, but he hated how they not only made them about his husband, but also spoke them to his face.

“Why shouldn’t I? I almost lost it again tonight.” Koutarou replied. Keiji sighed - Koutarou always took things at face value when it came from people who ‘knew better’ than he did. Keiji also recognized the signs that his husband’s mood was about to come crashing down without any intervention.

Keiji took his husband’s hands in his own and fixed him with a serious look. “Koutarou. Have you ever hurt me, intentionally or unintentionally?”

Koutarou seemed positively mortified at even the _suggestion_ of hurting Keiji and quickly shook his head, “Of course not, never! And I never will!”

“Have you ever hurt any of our friends? Any of the servants?”

“No!”

“And would you ever willingly hurt a child?”

“No!”

“So, just to be certain. You have never hurt me or anyone else you care about, even unintentionally, and you would never hurt a child.”

Keiji could see the understanding starting to build in Koutarou’s eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. “So why would you ever think you could hurt Katsumi?”

“You’re right.” Koutarou said, “Just like always. You’re so smart, Keiji.”

“I’ve just got more sense than you do,” Keiji teased, “You’re smart in your own ways. Sometimes.”

Koutarou laughed loudly and Keiji shushed him quickly, “You’ll wake him up!” He scolded, “You’re even more lacking in sense tonight than usually!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Koutarou said, bringing his voice down to almost a whisper. 

“Just speak normally,” Keiji said, though his tone of voice was fond, “We still have some things to discuss regarding Katsumi.”

“Right! Like his dad, right?”

“Yes, that’s part of it. Katsumi isn’t an orphan.”

“But his asshole dad abandoned him.” Koutarou said, “He’s as good as an orphan.”

“We’re just _assuming,_ he abandoned Katsumi. He no doubt neglected him by leaving him alone for two days, and has no right to fatherhood because of that, but if he does try to find Katsumi again and can’t he might cause a fuss. I doubt it, but we have to consider that possibility.”

Koutarou nodded, though he didn’t seem pleased, “I don’t think it’ll be that big of an issue. I mean, he’s just some homeless drunk, most likely. We can just send Konoha to find him and see what his deal is.”

“We have to be prepared for everything though. And, since he didn’t outright abandon Katsumi, Katsumi still thinks he’s coming back for him. He won’t want to stay with us as long as he thinks that.”

“Why don’t we just tell him the truth?” Koutarou suggested, “He seems like a pretty smart kid, for his age. Or we could just tell him his dad died.”

“Koutarou! We can’t just tell a child his father _died_!”

“I’m just considering all of our options!” Koutarou said.

“In any case,” Keiji continued, deciding that he would ignore that unless it became relevant again, “If all goes well and Katsumi stays with us, we’ll need to get some documentation for him and maybe a cover story. I don’t think what we did is _technically_ kidnapping or even slightly morally wrong, but we have enough enemies that would probably want to use this against us somehow.”

“We’re stronger than them in any case and it’s always been us against the world anyways. This is our chance, you know it as well as I do. I promised you the world on our wedding day, and this is me fulfilling that.”

“You’re horribly sappy, do you know that?” Keiji said, though his heart fluttered in his chest. He’d been in love with Koutarou since they were both kids, but somehow Koutarou always found new ways to make Keiji fall even deeper in love with him.

“I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.” Koutarou retorted, “Let’s sort everything out tomorrow, and just go to sleep now. I wanna cuddle.”

Keiji rolled his eyes but complied with his husband’s words.

\--

It was Katsumi’s seventh birthday and just about everyone in New York had shown up to celebrate their darling’s birthday. They were, as always, dressed to impress; each wearing the latest in fashion. Katsumi was especially dashing in his tiny three-piece midnight-blue tuxedo. Keiji, was wearing a tight fitting emerald green number and the jewelry set Koutarou had gifted him that fateful night. Koutarou had been making eyes at him since he had slipped the outfit on, but today was all about Katsumi. 

They had gone with a constellation theme due to Katsumi’s longtime obsession with space and all its mysteries. Hinata and Kageyama had been invited as the musical entertainers for the night seeing as they were Katsumi’s favourite artists. Himself and Koutarou had gifted Katsumi a new hand watch and pocket knife that morning at breakfast but the pièce de résistance was the golden telescope he would receive after supper.  
For now, the children were playing happily in the yard and enjoying the finger snacks that Yukie had diligently spent the morning making. Keiji was resting on the balustrade that lined their back porch after having had a tedious yet successful conversation with the mayor on the purchase of an industrial lot for Koutarou’s new textile factory. He felt arms wrap up around his waist and a head rest on his shoulder.

“How are you doing? You looked like you were doing great, I could see it in your eyes.” Koutarou asked, kissing his way up to his cheek. 

“I’m doing better now that you’re here. I got the deal too.” He replied, bringing a hand up to rest on his husband’s cheek. 

“What would I do without you?”

“You wouldn’t be friends with the mayor for once.” Keiji joked.

“Hey! He likes me, we just had a misunderstanding over baseball is all.”

“Darling, you made the man lose half a million dollars on a bet.”

“Never bet money you aren’t prepared to lose.” Koutarou replied laughing. 

“Wiser words were never spoken.” Keiji acquiesced, looking out to the children again. “We did a good job so far, haven’t we?” He asked.

“With the business?” Koutarou countered.

“With Katsumi.” He replied.

“Yeah, I guess we did.” Koutarou said, looking at Katsumi's energetic playing fondly.


End file.
